You’ll be surprised to know it’s not as hard as it seems because it’s rare for parents to buy two of these which will allow you to have a spare one while cleaning the other. Of course, it’s inevitable that it will get dirty from the drool or baby food.

You shouldn’t stress out if this happens because if you have a child, you know that cleaning is part of your daily tasks – no matter how old they are.

What You Need

1. Cold water

You may wonder, though, why use cold? The reason is that we consider this as a delicate fabric and something that might fade if not handled properly.

Hot water is often used to remove germs and dirt such as soil. And it can shrink the fabrics.

So in this instance, cold water is best. However, if the carrier is stained, you might consider pre-treating it first before washing.

2. Mild detergent

You can use those specially made for babies because there are no harmful chemicals. Keep in mind that the fabric will touch your child’s skin, and if they’re sensitive, it might not be a good idea to use the same detergent your family uses.

As much as possible, go for something that’s free of bleach, dyes and fragrances. Also, something that’s too powerful might affect the fabric’s colour or leave white spots on it.

What To Do

First off, you have to understand that although it’s machine washable, it’s not advisable that you should not wash it too often because the colour might quickly fade.

So if you can remove the dirt, you don’t need to put it in the washing machine because you can just spot clean it.

Limit washing and just do it if it’s too dirty for your baby’s use or if you don’t want the stain to stay in the fabric for too long.

From pre-treating to drying, you need to handle it with extreme care.

If you don’t have a washing machine or you’re currently travelling, a good option is to hand wash the carrier. This way, you have control over how delicate you can handle it.

That is if you’re hesitant to use a machine what with all the straps attached. You can skip it though if you’re running short on time.

Make sure you close all the safety buckles and elastic straps. I know it can be quite scary to machine-wash it with all the attachments, but as long as you handle it gently, there’s no need to worry about accidentally ripping the seams.

Besides, this is a high-quality carrier, so there’s little chance of damaging it while cleaning.

Choose the delicate cycle setting and remove the carrier while it’s still damp. By now, you probably know the rationale behind it.

Even if it’s heavily soiled, you should not choose anything other than the delicate option to avoid ripping the seams or potentially damaging the carrier. In a nutshell, it can shorten your carrier’s life.

If there’s too much dirt, you can always spot clean or pre-treat.

Avoid drying it using direct sunlight. The reason is pretty obvious – to prevent damage to the fabric.

You can air dry but never hang it outside when the sun is shining too brightly because it can cause fading particularly when your carrier has bright colours.

Also, the sun has a bleaching effect.

Conclusion

Doing laundry is the bane of my existence. Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but I think I speak for all mothers when I say that washing clothes isn’t exactly the most exciting house chore – even more so if it involves cleaning bulky items like carriers.

And if you chose the Ergo Baby Carrier, for sure you’re planning on using it for as long as possible.

And since you wouldn’t want to damage the fabric or shorten its life just because you washed it the wrong way, it’s always best to refer to the correct instructions.

Besides, I think you would all agree that this is quite easy depending on how soiled the carrier is. Still, however, it won't take up too much of your time.

Have you tried cleaning your carrier? How was it? Share it with me in the comments.

Nancy Shaw

Hi. My name is Nancy. I am a nurse by profession and a writer by passion and ever since I became a mother, I’ve become very active in sharing useful and important information about basically anything under the sun and a full-time mother to a 21-month old boy. Read more about me here.

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